


Listen to Me

by painfulprose



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: A little snippet of Daniel's past I wrote for fun, Abuse, Bad Parenting, Bad Parents, Corrupt Cult, Daniel is either 17 or 18, Daniel's Cult, Headcanon Backstory, Headcanon Personality, Mental Abuse, Original Characters - Freeform, Physical Abuse, Religious Cult, Solitary Confinement, Toxic Worldviews, Unjust Punishment, controlling parents, parental disputes, toxic thinking, yes this takes place in the same universe as 'Human' and 'Happy Birthday'
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-05
Updated: 2018-08-05
Packaged: 2019-06-22 02:19:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15571539
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/painfulprose/pseuds/painfulprose
Summary: From a young age, Daniel knew that he was different from his peers. Being too charismatic and free-thinking in a restricting conservative society is bound to get you into trouble, after all.One day, Daniel decides that he has differing views of the world outside of the walls that separate his cult from modern day society. His parents try to fix that.





	Listen to Me

"Let go of me! Let _GO_ of me!" 

Struggling wasn't helping his situation. He knew that. Fighting against his father has always ended in failure so far, so why? Why does he find himself still attempting to drag his heels into the ground; trying desperately to escape or slow down his fate? 

"I didn't even do anything _WRONG!_ Please listen to me..!" 

"You did this to yourself, Daniel." 

Childishly, a frustrated scream left Daniel as he felt another pair of hands on his person. Not restraining his own hands, but on his back. Due to the way he was thrashing about trying to free himself, he could guess whoever else was nearby was trying to get him to stop.

But he refused to stop. He wouldn't. He wouldn't stop fighting this.. This **injustice.** The Ancient Ones forgive him, but he doesn't deserve this. 

He doesn't deserve to be forcefully dragged down a darkened hallway inside of a building that he's unfamiliar with. He would admit that he _did_ deserve the reprimands for his foolhardy actions in the past, and that he _did_ deserve any 'special treatment' he received. 

**But he's NOT broken. He's not 'wrong'. He doesn't deserve whatever new punishment they have in store for him. He's DONE being their prisoner.**

"Daniel!" a woman shrieked as he successfully kicked someone's leg as hard as he could. "Cease this at once! We are only trying to _help you!_ Why can you not see that, you STUPID boy!" 

A smack across the face from his father had him forgetting whatever retort he had in mind. 

"You ask to be treated less like a child and more like a man," he berated in that emotionless tone that Daniel oh-so hated. Yes, he HATES it and he's NOT sorry. 

"And now what do I find you doing?" 

" _With a REASON-_ " 

"You are throwing a tantrum. No prophet before you acted so distastefully." 

"You don't KNOW that-" 

"Silence. I try to understand you, Daniel, but only The Ancients know what is wrong with you." 

"There's NOTHING wrong with me! I-I just want to do things _differently!_ I-I really feel like the way we're handling the colonies isn't practical, so I just thought-" 

"There is your problem," his father interrupted with a raise of his hand. 

Daniel, though he'd stopped struggling as much in order to TRY to have a sensible conversation, forced himself to keep the urge to fight in him. As much as a part of himself was believing and feeding into everything that he was being told, like he **should**... 

... Another part of him tasted metal. He wasn't bleeding, he knew. Something had just settled in the pit of his gut and was making everything acrid and off-putting. 

His parents wouldn't _harm_ him. Not seriously. They would never... right? He's too important to lose, anyway. The worst that they could do is demand he be disfellowshipped, and even then, Grandmother wouldn't allow it. 

They'd tried once already. Neither of them want to upset Grandmother. They're afraid of her.

"You think you can go against the grain and do whatever you please as if you leave nothing but gold in your wake." 

"What-" He was cut off by his mother throwing herself into his direct view. He couldn't see that well in the dark, but by the lines creasing her face and by her escalated breathing, she was most certainly crying. She never cries in public. It's prohibited. 

"Listen to the way you are _speaking_ , Daniel! That is not proper language..! Who taught you to speak in such a way?" 

Despite himself and his situation, he felt his face redden for a reason aside from anger. He looked down. 

"That boy," she seethed. It was like a rattlesnake had somehow slithered into her throat and made its home there. "That boy did this to you, did he not?" 

"H-He- He's just my guard. You assigned him to me- don't be ridiculous." 

He winced as he caught himself too little too late. 

"YOU ARE STILL DOING IT! HE HAS TAINTED YOU! HE HAS TAKEN YOU AWAY FROM US!" 

"Meriem," his father warned. " _You_ are letting yourself become tainted. Take a deep breath. The Ancient Ones are reaching out to you now for a spiritual cleansing." 

Shuddering from rage or sadness, Daniel couldn't tell, but his mother looked about ready to collapse. Her hair lay splayed along her shoulders in complete and utter disarray. He hated the fact that him being the cause of her hysteria caused him some remorse. 

"How DARE you-!" She turned on him, next. Another outlet for her anger. That's all he really ever was, really, so Daniel couldn't be too surprised about that. 

Even so, Daniel couldn't help but to let out a small hiss as his father's grip on his wrists tightned. 

"Would you like to join our misguided son in solitary confinement?" 

"You would **never.** I am your WIFE." 

To that, Father had no response. They had paused just outside of a door at the end of the hall. One of many that they'd passed beforehand. 

Father's silence marked the end of the conversation. Soon, Daniel was suffering the weight of two separate glares once more, and suffice it to say that he'd rather they'd have kept fighting.

"And _you._ You are my one pride and joy." Course as nails and soft as feathers in less than seconds. It was so easy to see behind her facade when she switched so quickly. 

Daniel couldn't help the involuntary flinch as a wispy hand cupped his cheek. Feigning care and sincerity for the thousandth time. 

"We invoke the toxin into our bodies for your sake. Each and every day, my little starlight. You are worth the effort. The Gods say it so." 

Disgusting lies.

"We will do whatever we must to secure your position among them, darling. You just have to cooperate." 

"If..." He was hesitating. Now was most likely his one and only chance to talk his way out of his punishment. 

Hearing that it was merely solitary confinement admittedly quelled most of the fears he'd had, honestly. He's endured it before. He can endure it again.  
But on the other hand, he still felt it was unjust. He didn't know what his supposed crime had been this time around. 

In the past, he had been told off for being too 'careless'. Too 'emotive' or 'expressive'. Too 'free-spirited'. Too 'strange', even. Always vague and always never really bothering to explain anything in a way that made sense to him. 

The society makes sense. The compounds make sense. The way he's been forced to run his colony _doesn't._ Normally whenever he has thoughts that 'go against the grain' (in his father's words), they never last long. They come and go very reminiscent to wind. Questioning the society's ways and your superiors shouldn't be something that he does on a daily basis, he knows, but...

"Speak, darling. You will be heard and understood." 

"I'll cooperate. **If** you tell me what your reasoning is for this. I-I _understand_ that I'm... 'abnormal', but.. But I was merely suggesting that we spread the word of Our Lords rather than culling the Abhorrents. They are NOT just sheep and cattle... They're _people-_ " 

"You have answered your own question," his father answered at once, as if not wanting him to speak the truth. "The fact that you see those outside of these walls to be anything less than troubled animals troubles _us_ , son. This is why you need to be fixed." 

"It is for the betterment of the colony," his mother put in, still in her sickly sweet disguise. "You will thank us later, starlight. Trust me, and trust in The Ancients. They watch over you always."

Oddly enough, he was not reassured by his mother's soothing voice. Nor by the pat on the cheek and kiss on the forehead. Listening to a woman who's attempting to comfort you while she's tear-stained and falling apart is kind of hard to do, in all honesty. 

At this point, Daniel knew his chance at getting out of this all had passed. He'd wronged his parents, his people, and the council by having differing opinions on the way things should be. There was still a part of him screaming that THEY'RE the ones at fault and that he STILL doesn't deserve any punishment at all.

There was a part of him that wanted to hurt the people before him, the people that raised him, in order to escape. Self-preservation flowed strongly in his veins when compared to most of his peers. 

But it was fading fast. Again, any rebellious or 'wrong' thought was sapped from him by an unknown force. Gradually, he weakened. Ultimately, he relented. 

Hanging his head, he wordlessly begged for the 'forgiveness' that he received. In the form of a lock and key. 

And hours upon hours of silence.

**Author's Note:**

> Ahahahaah don't ask me I don't know. I just know that I've had the concept of Daniel's cult and his relationship with his parents for a long time now and I just wanted to finally get something about it down somewhere. 
> 
> The Jasper fic is now definitely next. I have a line up of Camp Camp fics I want to get out before I continue work on Never Ending Night. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! 
> 
> My Tumblr: https://painful-prose.tumblr.com/  
> My Discord: #9068


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